Taylor Bruninga

[BRADLEY FAN 49]

I went to Illini Bluffs game last night in Williamsfield to watch Taylor Bruninga play.
Granted the team they played was not very good.
But this kid is a very good player, it looks to me like we are really missing out if we're not recruiting him.
He does everything well but the most impressive thing he does is shoot the ball great.
He had 38 points and did'nt play half the game. He's the type of player that UNI always has that kills us.

[LongTimeFan]

Thanks for the report. I imagine it all depends on how many scholarships are available next year. Does he have any D1 offers?

[Da Coach]

He does not have any offers yet. But there have been a steady stream of D1 coaches at his games. I am sure he will have offers soon. Bradley coaches have followed him, but as noted, there are no open scholarships.

[bigjimmy]

From what I've heard his decision is going to come down between basketball and baseball. Might get drafted by MLB this summer. That would be hard to turn down.

[mvcfan]

He sat behind the bench at the ISU/St. Joe's game I believe it was. I know Muller has been in to see him.

[Serbiansniper34]

I can say with almost 100% certainty that he will not be at Bradley next year.

[BRADLEY FAN 49]

I know UIC was at the game Monday.

[tornado]

Many coaches have been to see him and as we get further into spring - especially when some schools have scholarships open up, he will get some offers....and he has a shot at being a good DI player.
I think we have already touched on a lot of the reasons that a 30-40 ppg scorer is not getting DI offers...but people still seem to focus only on his scoring numbers.

Just a couple years ago, Jordan Nelson from Lincoln was putting up huge numbers, and finally did get a late DI offer from Evansville, but kinda flamed out there averaging only 1-2 ppg, then transferred to Illinois Wesleyan (DIII) where he did OK.
Both Jordan & Brady Zimmer put up huge numbers at Delavan...20-30ppg, but once they got to college it was pretty apparent those huge numbers were due to the quality of opponents, as neither exceeded 5-11 ppg averages at DIII.
And there have been other small school scorers who didn't keep up the scoring at DI level but at least for the midmajors - recruiting always has its risks, so coaches are willing to take chances on kids that might develop & contribute.


A couple mentions of smaller school successes....
I do wish Bradley had stayed on Alec Peters in 2011 when he was one of our top targets as a sophomore - but then never heard from Bradley again when we had a change in coaching staffs.

One other kid that was a big scorer in high school but got virtually zero DI interest was a kid from a small school in Oklahoma named Josh Young. Everyone passed on him because he played at such a small school - except Keno Davis at Drake offered him a scholarship.
But- he developed into a very good DI player & scorer and helped lead Drake to their 30 win season in 2008, and scored almost 2000 career points...not to mention he always seemed to kill us when we played Drake.

http://www.godrakebulldogs.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=3026

and just to stay a step ahead....
there's yet another small school kid in Illinois putting up 30-40 points a game but getting extremely little attention...

https://twitter.com/SpeaksBball/status/819185310571565056

http://www.wandtv.com/story/34177806/meridians-two-headed-monster-putting-up-big-numbers

[midstateknowitall]

Many coaches have been to see him and as we get further into spring - especially when some schools have scholarships open up, he will get some offers....and he has a shot at being a good DI player.
I think we have already touched on a lot of the reasons that a 30-40 ppg scorer is not getting DI offers...but people still seem to focus only on his scoring numbers.

Just a couple years ago, Jordan Nelson from Lincoln was putting up huge numbers, and finally did get a late DI offer from Evansville, but kinda flamed out there averaging only 1-2 ppg, then transferred to Illinois Wesleyan (DIII) where he did OK.
Both Jordan & Brady Zimmer put up huge numbers at Delavan...20-30ppg, but once they got to college it was pretty apparent those huge numbers were due to the quality of opponents, as neither exceeded 5-11 ppg averages at DIII.
And there have been other small school scorers who didn't keep up the scoring at DI level but at least for the midmajors - recruiting always has its risks, so coaches are willing to take chances on kids that might develop & contribute.


A couple mentions of smaller school successes....
I do wish Bradley had stayed on Alec Peters in 2011 when he was one of our top targets as a sophomore - but then never heard from Bradley again when we had a change in coaching staffs.

One other kid that was a big scorer in high school but got virtually zero DI interest was a kid from a small school in Oklahoma named Josh Young. Everyone passed on him because he played at such a small school - except Keno Davis at Drake offered him a scholarship.
But- he developed into a very good DI player & scorer and helped lead Drake to their 30 win season in 2008, and scored almost 2000 career points...not to mention he always seemed to kill us when we played Drake.

http://www.godrakebulldogs.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=3026

and just to stay a step ahead....
there's yet another small school kid in Illinois putting up 30-40 points a game but getting extremely little attention...

https://twitter.com/SpeaksBball/status/819185310571565056

http://www.wandtv.com/story/34177806...up-big-numbers

Jordan Nelson 6'1 played behind one of Evansville's All Time Leading Scorers. Never really had much playing time behind him & transferred because he wanted to be on the court.

Layne Kircher 6'3 G from Meridian is averaging 25ppg 7rebs 3asts this season. He has had a few 30pt games & 40pts last night.

But Taylor is 6'8.5 or 6'9 now averaging 37pts & 16rebs a game. While consistently seeing double and triple teams. Averaging 37 and scoring 40 are 2 totally different things. Taylor is a MM-MM+ player right now, and if he was at a 3a-4a school he would be and wouldn't have to put up these ridiculous stats just to get a sniff.

Matt Chastain (LeRoy) had the same thing happen last year to him. Finally got his 1st D1 offer and 2 weeks later he had 10+. Same thing will happen with Taylor. Nobody wants to be the 1st- but nobody wants to be last either.


Irconically all 4 have played for my program in the summer!

[tornado]

and I really think you and your program have done some really great things for the Central IL kids and small school kids that fly "under the radar" as far as all the Chicago and east coast gurus are concerned.

Sean Johnson, Michael Berg and Alex Sorenson are a couple others kids who didn't get much DI attention - but who are or have excelled at a lower level and kinda proving they maybe could have played at the DI level.
I hope we do end up with an extra scholarship and seriously consider Bruninga.......but it's not likely given our scholarship situation.


one other name to throw out...
Petersburg PORTA's Max Muller is a 2017 6-6 shooting guard that's lighting it up... and I'll bet midstate-k can add more..

[midstateknowitall]

Sorenson was at Northern Michigan (Tough D2 League). Played alot as a freshman. Just didn't love the U-P. North Central still in big time D3 League- much more his style outside of Basketball.

Berg was someone I thought was undervalued. Think he could have been a great D2 possibly low D1 guy.

Max Muller I think is the best available wing 2017 in Central IL. You want to compare him to someone. I would say he is a more athletic Jeremy Crouch. Probably not as pure of a stroke as Crouch but its still really good. Kid is tough as nails and knows how to play. Underrated for sure... Another example of small school syndrome. If he was at 3a-4a school it would change his recruitment.

Recruitment is just a lot slower for the most part in Central IL. And for a lot of kids: Sorenson, Berg, Muller, Bruninga included didn't bloom until Jr. or Sr. seasons. Nothing wrong just makes recruitment different.

It will be interesting to see what happens with Taylor. Its going to get wild here over the next 2 months.


IMO: To many coaches use offers on the table to judge players, they don't use their own eyes. They use another School's eyes to validate their opinions of the kid

[egib52]

Irconically all 4 have played for my program in the summer!

Since you know him so well, do you mind sharing your scouting report of him. Both sides of the small school argument have merit. Tall kids, extremely athletic kids, and skilled shooters have inflated numbers when playing at small schools. However, the mere fact that they play at small schools leads to some kids getting written off. I am sure you have seen him play against other D1 talent, what is your take on his game? Is he a Peters or Bisping type who is going to frustrate Bradley fans for missing out or is he going to need a lot of development to start in the MVC?

[BRADLEY FAN 49]

Taylor is not just a scorer.
The game wednesday he ran point on a lot of fast breaks and did it very well.
Also a very good passer.

[runninfiend]

I am sure you have seen him play against other D1 talent, what is your take on his game? Is he a Peters or Bisping type who is going to frustrate Bradley fans for missing out or is he going to need a lot of development to start in the MVC?

I have no rooting interest, but it mind-blowing that mid-majors are not all over this kid. It doesn't take much to see, just go watch him play--level of competition is irrelevant. He's legit 6' 8", moves well, beautiful shooting stroke to be a 3, athletic enough to rebound at the next level, and clearly is still developing.

I would place him on a spectrum between Peters and Bisping, maybe around where Nate Taphorn was his senior year. Peters was the more complete offensive player, stronger post and mid-range presence, but I think Bruninga has an outside game that Bisping lacked.

I'd also place his ceiling as higher than Chastain based on size and perimeter skill level. Be a great Nothern Iowa-type system player and with the right grooming could contribute at the Big Ten level, in my opinion. It's just crazy that he has no offers at this point.

[wily coyote]

I have no rooting interest, but it mind-blowing that mid-majors are not all over this kid. It doesn't take much to see, just go watch him play--level of competition is irrelevant. He's legit 6' 8", moves well, beautiful shooting stroke to be a 3, athletic enough to rebound at the next level, and clearly is still developing.

I would place him on a spectrum between Peters and Bisping, maybe around where Nate Taphorn was his senior year. Peters was the more complete offensive player, stronger post and mid-range presence, but I think Bruninga has an outside game that Bisping lacked.

I'd also place his ceiling as higher than Chastain based on size and perimeter skill level. Be a great Nothern Iowa-type system player and with the right grooming could contribute at the Big Ten level, in my opinion. It's just crazy that he has no offers at this point.

I agree 100% with your post